Live-action • A young Lex Luthor appears in
Superboy (1988), portrayed by
Scott James Wells in the first season and subsequently by
Sherman Howard. This version was raised by an abusive father and neglectful mother before becoming rich after taking out an insurance policy on his parents and killing them. By the time he enters college, he became a minor criminal preoccupied with outdoing
Superboy. Additionally, he goes bald while being rescued from a lab fire by Superboy. Vowing revenge, Luthor kills businessman Warren Eckworth and tries unsuccessfully to use Eckworth's "Superboy Gun" project to kill Superboy. • Lex Luthor appears in
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, portrayed by
John Shea. This version is the third-richest person in the world and a philanderer who publicly masquerades as a beloved
humanitarian with assistance from Nigel St. John (portrayed by
Tony Jay). In the first season finale, amidst his wedding to
Lois Lane, his criminal nature is exposed and Luthor commits suicide to avoid prison. In the second season, Luthor's ex-wife Arianna Carlin steals his body from the coroner's office before his personal physician Gretchen Kelly freezes him so she can eventually revive him. While she succeeds, he is rendered temporarily bald until the third season, in which he loses his wealth and is forced to work for
Intergang. He later murders Gretchen before Superman sends Luthor to prison to serve a double
life sentence. After using a clone of the
President to grant himself a pardon, Luthor regains his wealth and attempts to ruin Clark Kent and Lois' wedding with a clone of Lois, finding out Superman's true identity in the process, only to die in the destruction of his underground subway hideout. Additionally, his illegitimate children, computer geek billionaire
Jaxon Xavier and the deformed
Lex Luthor Jr. appear in the episodes "Virtually Destroyed", "Faster Than a Speeding Vixen", "Shadow of a Doubt", and "Voice from the Past", portrayed by Andy Berman and Keith Brunsmann, respectively. •
Lex Luthor appears in
Smallville, portrayed by
Michael Rosenbaum. •
Lex Luthor appears in media set in the
Arrowverse, portrayed by
Jon Cryer as an adult and Aidan Fink as a child. He primarily appears in the TV series
Supergirl and makes an additional appearance in the crossover "
Crisis on Infinite Earths". • Lex Luthor was meant to appear in
Metropolis, in which he and Lois Lane would have worked together to investigate fringe science and expose the eponymous city's secrets. The series was to be developed by
Gotham producers
John Stephens and
Danny Cannon and
Warner Bros. Television as of 2018, but no further news came of the project's status. • Lex Luthor appears in
Titans, portrayed by Payne Novak as a child and
Titus Welliver as an adult. The series is set when is in his late 60s. His father Lionel claims that Lex and Clark Kent used to be good friends. • Lex Luthor appears in
Superman & Lois, portrayed by
Michael Cudlitz. • The
DCU version of Lex Luthor appears in the
Peacemaker episode "
Ignorance Is Chris", portrayed again by
Nicholas Hoult.
Animation • Lex Luthor appears in
The New Adventures of Superman, voiced by Ray Owens. This version is stated to be "the world's greatest criminal scientist" and temporarily sports a slimmer physique in the third season. • Lex Luthor appears in the
Super Friends franchise, voiced by
Stanley Jones. This version is the leader of the
Legion of Doom. He first appears in
Challenge of the Superfriends and makes subsequent appearances in ''
The World's Greatest Super Friends episode "Lex Luthor Strikes Back", Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show, and The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians''. • Lex Luthor appears in the Sunnyland Refining Company Superman Peanut Butter commercial. • Lex Luthor appears in
Superman (1988), voiced by
Michael Bell. •
Montana Max (voiced by
Danny Cooksey) assumes the role of "Wex Wuthor" in the
Tiny Toon Adventures segments "Superbabs" and "New Class Day". • Lex Luthor appears in series set in the
DC Animated Universe (DCAU), voiced by
Clancy Brown. • First appearing in
Superman: The Animated Series, Luthor is a corrupt businessman who controls most of Metropolis with assistance from
Mercy Graves. Despite coming into conflict with and being foiled by Superman numerous times, he avoids imprisonment due to lack of evidence. • In
Justice League, Luthor loses
LexCorp after
Batman,
Green Lantern, and
J'onn J'onzz of the eponymous
League expose his criminal activities. Additionally, he discovers he is suffering from terminal
blood cancer caused by long-term exposure to Kryptonite. While in prison, he bribes the
Ultra-Humanite into freeing him, developing a powered suit to delay his cancer, and helping him form the
Injustice Gang to combat the League. However, the Ultra-Humanite eventually betrays Luthor. Following a failed attempt to use
Amazo to fight the League, Luthor helps them defeat the
Justice Lords, receives a pardon, and considers entering politics. • In
Justice League Unlimited, Luthor mounts a presidential campaign to enrage Superman while secretly funding
Project Cadmus to acquire their technology and build an android body inspired by Amazo for himself. While he is thwarted by
Amanda Waller and the League's founding members,
Brainiac emerges from within Luthor's body, having laid dormant within him for years, and fuses with him in an attempt to recreate the universe. However, they are defeated by the
Flash before Luthor is re-arrested. After escaping prison, Luthor becomes obsessed with resurrecting Brainiac and regaining his lost "godhood". In pursuit of this, he joins and eventually takes over the
Secret Society, only for his efforts to culminate in
Darkseid killing most of them. Luthor leads the survivors in helping the League foil Darkseid's invasion, during which he gains
Metron's help in obtaining the
Anti-Life Equation and uses it on himself and Darkseid. • Lex Luthor appears in
Robot Chicken, voiced initially by
Seth Green and later by
Donald Faison (in "Toyz in the Hood"),
Jim Cummings (in "Due to Constraints of Time and Budget"), and
Alfred Molina (in the DC Comics specials and "Triple Hot Dog Sandwich on Wheat"). In the
Robot Chicken DC Comics Special,
Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 2: Villains in Paradise, and
Robot Chicken DC Comics Special III: Magical Friendship, Luthor serves as leader of the Legion of Doom, formed a band called "Sexx Luthor" when he was in high school, and joined several of his multiversal doppelgangers to form a boy band called "Sexx II Men". • Lex Luthor appears in the
Krypto the Superdog, voiced by
Brian Dobson. This version has a pet
iguana named Ignatius (voiced by
Scott McNeil) who shares his intelligence, vanity, and moral ambivalence. • A distant relative of Lex Luthor's named
Alexis Luthor appears in
Legion of Super Heroes, voiced by
Tara Strong. Similarly to Luthor, she possesses skill with machinery and access to a corporation and is stated to be the "richest girl in the galaxy". Additionally, she loses her hair while fighting the
Legion. • Lex Luthor appears in
The Batman two-part episode "The Batman/Superman Story", voiced again by Clancy Brown. He is depicted as the archenemy of the
Batman of Zur-En-Arrh. • Lex Luthor appears in the
Mad segment "Zeke and Lex Luthor". • Lex Luthor appears in
Young Justice, voiced by
Mark Rolston. • Lex Luthor appears in
My Adventures with Superman, voiced by
Max Mittelman. This version initially works as an assistant to
Professor Ivo in the first season before allying with
Task Force X and using their resources to found LexCorp in the second season. ==Film==